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SPORTS

Pittsburgh Bound, Women’s Basketball Rolls Past St. Bonaventure

by | Mar 6, 2019 | Sports

Seniors Justine Lyon, Kyla Roland, and Kianna Speight were all smiles after earning a win for their final game in Belk Arena.

 

News of Davidson game photo album

DAVIDSON, N.C.  — Davidson opened up a 27-point advantage and would lead by as many as 32 in the fourth quarter in rolling to its first-ever Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Championship win with a 74-49 decision over 12th-seeded St. Bonaventure in the first round at John M. Belk Arena.

Fans of all ages were on hand Tuesday night to cheer the ‘Cats on to a win over St. Bonaventure.

The fifth-seeded Wildcats (17-13) snapped a two-game losing streak and heads to Pittsburgh, Pa., where it will face off against fourth-seeded Dayton in the quarterfinals Friday, March 8, at 2 p.m. on the campus of Duquesne University.

Davidson raced out to a 35-8 lead with 7:45 to go in the second quarter, nailing 12 of its first 21 field goals, including 5-of-8 from behind the arc, and 6-for-8 at the free-throw line. It went into halftime up 20 (41-21) before pulling away at the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth with a 16-0 run to go up 63-38.

With moves like these, Justine Lyon led the ‘Cats with 17 points.

Five scorers reached double figures, led by Justine Lyon’s 17 points off the bench. She hit a season-best 7-of-9 free throws, pulled in six rebounds and pocketed a couple of steals.

Kianna Speight netted 16 points and hauled in a career-high nine rebounds, while Cassidy Gould scored 13 points with three assists. Sarah Donovan had 12 points and seven rebounds, and rounding out the five double-digit scorers was Katie Turner with 11.

Gould (9), Speight (7) and Turner (5) combined for 21 of the 26 points in the first quarter points to give the ‘Cats a 26-8 lead.

St. Bonaventure (8-22) had a pair of double-figure scorers with Emily Calabrese and Mckenna Maycock at 16 and 15 points, respectively. Maycock added 10 rebounds for a double-double.

The Bonnies used a 17-6 run in the third quarter to erase some of the ‘Cats’ 23-point lead and get within 47-38 with 1:50 to go. But, the Wildcats answered by scoring the final six points on its way to the 16-0 run and pulled away for the win.

Behind Ally Welling’s and Kyla Roland’s nine and eight rebounds, respectively, Davidson had a game-high 52 rebounds. It was the fifth 50-rebound effort on the season.

The Wildcats scored 24 points off of 15 Bonnie turnovers and netted 34 points in the paint. They held SBU to just 29.3 percent shooting on the night, including just 6-of-21 from behind the arc.

GAME NOTES: This was the sixth meeting all-time between both team’s women’s basketball programs dating back to when the Wildcats joined the A-10 … Davidson evened the series at 3-3 with its second straight win … The Wildcats won their 10th home game, the most since 12 in 2011-12.

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